Method of pretesting and dyeing textile packages



July 25, 1939.

R. LITTLE ET AL METHOD OF PRETESTING AND DYEING TEXTILE PACKAGES Original Filed Sept. '7, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 25, 1939.

R. LITTLE- r AL METHOD OF PRETESTING AND DYEING TEXTILE PACKAGES 14 Java/1011 Z'Ziifl ZM 9K 7 6 5 3 2 I 0 v Z 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 @23 1276129: flqylll Z7717! Original Filed Sept. '7, 1955 ODOOQ00 Patented July 25, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF PRETESTING AND DYEING TEXTILE PACKAGES Original application September 7, 1935, Serial No. 39,586. Divided and this application July 21, 1938, Serial No. 220,450

3 Claims.

This application is a division of our co-pending application Serial No. 39,586, filed September 7, 1935, and issued into Patent No. 2,157,135 on May 9, 1939. v

The present invention relates to a method of dyeing or otherwise similarly treating packages of textile material. By the term "package as employed in the following specification and claims is meant any wound mass of textile material whatever its character or form and whether or not supported either fromwithin or without.

By the usual method of dyeing, bleaching, mordanting or otherwise treating packages of textile material in a kier a treating fluid is surged i through a plurality of the packages under pressure. Considerable difliculty has been experienced in passing the same volume of fluid through each package and as a result the material'in the different packages is not uniformly treated. For example, when the packages of the material are treated with a dye-liquor, and particularly packages of synthetic fibers commonly known' as "artificial silk or "rayon, the several packages do not have a uniform color shade. ,This difficulty is caused by variations in the density of packages wound on different spindles due to vari-. ations in the tension applied to the yarn, the pressure of the thread-guide on the package, and the spacing of the coils during winding. The varying degrees of density of the packages varies their porosity which, in turn, varies the permeability of the packages to the flow of a treating fluid.

When a series-of packages of varying per- 5 meability are treated in a kier in the manner explained above, a larger proportion of the treating fluid flows through the packages having the greatest permeability and a lesser amount of the fluid passes through the packages having a lesser 40 permeability. As a result the different packages are subjected to the treating fluid in varying degrees. When dyeing the dye-liquor is absorbed, in varying quantities in the different packages which gives a variation. in the color shades. To 5 avoid such inequalities it has been the practice to test the density of packages by their feel to the hand. Such a method of testing the permeability of packages has been found to be entirely unreliable. For example, it has been found 50 in actual practice that packages which feel too soft take the same color shade as the other packages of a batch when dyed, while packages having the right feel to the hand-do not always take the same color shade as the other packages of 55 a batch when dyed. That is to say, the apparent density of a package as determined by feeling with the hand definitely has been proven not to be a true indication of the permeability of the package.

One object of the present invention is to pro- 5 vide a method of dyeing or otherwise similarly treating textile packages so that all the packages of a batch will be uniformly treated.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method for the purpose specified including the '10 preliminary steps of accurately testing the permeability of each individual package and grouplng those packages having the same permeability to provide a batch for treatment under the same conditions. :15

Another object of the invention is to test the permeability of individual packages wound on difierent machines so that the source of improperly wound packages can be quickly detected and the fault corrected.

' Still another object of the invention is to provide a testing step for the purpose specified which Includes measuring the pressure necessary to force a stream of testing fluid through each package at a constant rate. v

Further objects of the invention'are set forth in the following specification which describes the method and a preferred form of apparatus for practicing the testing step, by way of example, as illustrated by the accompanying drawings; 80 In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a testing apparatus showing apackage mounted thereon prior to a testingoperation; and

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal, sectional view of the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 1 showing the relationship of the elements while a testing operation is being performed.

The packages to be treated by the present method-are preferably wound on hollow porous cores which may be either rigid or compressible, but the invention in its broadest aspect includes the testing of packages in any form such as cops, cones, cheeses, cakes, jack-spools, beams, and the like. In accordance with the present invention the individual packages are first tested to determine their relative permeability. Air is usually used as the testing medium because of the ease and convenience with which it may be supplied and controlled, but it is to be understood that any other fluid, whether a gas or liquid, may be used to test the permeability of textile packages in the present method of dyeing. Preferably, a stream of the testing medium is passed through a measuring orifice from a chamber containing the medium at a predetermined constant pressure so that the fluid will be fed at a constant rate. The stream of fluid is then confined within the package so that it can escape only through the porous core and the mass of material forming the package. The pressure will then accurately indicate a value of permeability of the package to the flow of the medium.

It has been found by experiment that the value of permeability of a package by any particular testing medium, such as air, may be converted by constants to the permeability of the package by other fluids such as dyeing or other compounds or any fluid for treating textiles. It has further been determined by experiment that the present method of testing packages accurately measures their relative permeability so that each package of a group having substantially the same permeability by test will pass the same amount of treating fluid. For example, when a group of pack packages within a permissible range to obtain a uniform treatment of all the packages in different batches. To this end the winding machine spindles producing improperly wound packages as determined by the testing step are adjusted to correct the fault so that all the packages will have substantially the same permeability. Thus, only a few packages will fall outside of the permissible range of standard permeability when tested and these packages are rewound. If a large number of packages are found to have a premeability greater or lesser than a predetermined standard when tested they may be grouped together in separate batches. then be subjected to individual treatment under conditions proportional to their permeability as tested so that the same amount of fluid will pass through each package of the different groups to uniformly treat all the packages.

The present drawings illustrate a preferred form of apparatus for testing the permeability of the individual textile packages. The apparatus includes a supporting bench or table 5 on which a nozzle 6 is mounted for dispensing a stream of the testing fluid at a constant rate. The nozzle 6 is mounted in an aperture I in the table 5 and has a radial flange 8 which seats against the table top. The end of the nozzle 6 extending downwardly through the aperture l is formed as a threaded pipe-nipple 9 and a nut screwed onto the nipple against a washer abutting the bottom of the table secures the nozzle fixedly in place. The nozzle 6 has an axially-extending measuring orifice |2 through which the testing fluid passes and a cylindrical extension l3 projecting upwardly from the flange 8 to form a closure plug for a purpose to be later described. The fluid, preferably air, is constant:-

. 1y supplied to the nozzle from a suitable source,

not herein shown, through a conduit M. Between the conduit l4 and nozzle 6 a needle-valve l5 and pressure-measuring chamber I6 are provided. The chamber I6 as herein illustrated is constituted as'a short pipe-nipple having one of its threaded ends connected to the nipple 3 on the nozzle 6 by a union H. The needle-valve 55 has a suitable operating handle it and opposite female pipe threads for connecting it to the pipethe seat 29.

These batches may m'pple forming the pressure chamber l6 and the conduit l4.

A pressure-indicating device is mounted in any convenient position as on the table 5 and preferably takes the form of a manometer tube 20 having a long arm 2| and short arm 22; but it is to be understood that other forms of pressureindicating instruments may be substituted for that herein illustrated. The manometer tube 20 is mounted on an indicating board 23 which, in turn, is mounted on the table 5 by means of brackets 24. The board 23 is suitably marked with indicia to provide a scale 25 at its upper end while its lower end extends through an aperture 26 in the table 5 to position the scale to be readily observed by an operator. The manometer tube 20 is slidably supported on the board 23 by brackets 21 and 28 with its lower end resting on a vertically adjustable seat 29. The brackets 21 and 28 losely embrace the manometer tube 2|] so that it may be adjusted vertically by an adjusting screw 30 extending through a screw-threaded support 3| fixed to the board 23 and engaging In this manner the tube 20 may be adjusted on the board 23 so that the level of the fluid in the opposite arms 2| and 22 of the tube may be brought into register at a point indicated on the scale at L" when on pressure is applied.

The pressure in the chamber I6 is transmitted to the short arm 22 of the manometer tube 2|] by means of a flexible tube or conduit 36 having one end connected to a nipple 31 projecting laterally from the chamber l6 and its opposite end connected to --the short arm 22 of the tube. As herein illustrated, the conduit 36 extends through an aperture 38 in the table, but it will be understood that any other arrangement of the parts may be made whereby to transmit the pressure in the chamber Him the manometer tube 20. The needle-valve l5 is adjusted by means of the handle l8 to permit a flow of the testing medium from the conduit M into the pressure chamber l6 at a constant rate. 'The medium will then flow from the pressure chamber l6 through the measuring orifice |2 of the nozzle 6 at a constant rate to maintain a constant pressure in the chamber. The needle-valve I5 is set to maintain a normal level of the liquid in the long arm 2| of the manometer tube 20 in register with the O graduation on the scale 25 when the testing medium is freely escaping through the nozzle 6.

The apparatus illustrated is particularly adapted for testing packages, such as indicated by the character P, wound on rigid, hollow,

cylindrical cores C which are provided with a series of rows of perforations for passing a treating fluid such as a dye-liquor duringsubsequent treatment. A package to be tested is mounted on the apparatus with its lower end abutting the upper face of the flange 8 surrounding the cylindrical plug l3 which is of such diameter as to provide a close fit with the interior of the core C.

The plug I3 is of suchlength as to block the lowermost row of perforationsin the core C and together with the seating of the core on the flange 8 seals the lower end of the package.

The opposite end of the rigid core C is sealed by a closure-plate 40 carrying a plug ll forinsertion into the interior'of the, core with aclose fit. in a manner similar to the plug l3. The closureplate 40 and its depending plus-4| are adapted,

for movement toward and away from the endof the package and to this end are rigidly fixed to. one end ofv an arm 62"by. means of screws, The arm 32 is mounted on theupperend of a reciprocable rod 44 by means of a hub 55 which is held against a shoulder 45 on the rod by a nut I screwed down on its threaded. end. The rod 45 is supported in suitable bearings 58 and 49 carried by a bracket 50 which is fastened to the table 5 by means of bolts 5|. The plate 40 and plug 4| are held from turning on the rod 44 by a key 52, see .Fig. 2, and maintained in proper alinement with the nozzle 5 and plug I3 by a set-screw 53 extending through the bearing 48 and engaging a longitudinal slot 54 in the rod. The closure-plate 40 is normally held in spaced relation with respect to the end of the core 0,

, as illustrated in Fig. 1, by a coil-spring 55 tensioned between an abutment 51 on thebracket 50 and a collar 53 fixed to the rod 44 by a setscrew 59. With the closure-plate 40 in its normal raised position packages of the textile material may be conveniently applied to the apparatus for.

a testing operation and thereafter removed there- .from. a

The rod 45 extends through an aperture 54 in the table 5 and may be drawn downwardly against the action of the spring 55 to lower the closureplate 40 into engagement with the open end of the core C by means of a foot-treadle 55 and connecting rod 56. The treadle 55 is of usual construction having one end pivoted as at 51 and a pedal 58 at its opposite end. The connecting rod 55 has bifurcated end members 59 and I0 screwed ontoits threaded ends to provide for adjusting its, length. The member 69 is pivotally connected to a tongue II at the lower end of the rod 45 by means of a clevis-pin I2 while the member III is similarly connected to the treadle 55 intermediate its ends by a clevis-pin 13. One form of the testing apparatus having now been described its mode of operation will next be explained.

The operator initially adjusts the apparatus for a testing operation by first moving the manometer tube'20 with respect to the scale-board 23 by means of the adjusting screw 30 until-the level of the liquid in the two arms 2| and 22 registers with the normal level point indicated at L" on the scale 25. The needle valve I5 is then opened by turning the handle I8 to permit the testing fluid to enter the chamber I3 and escape through the measuring orifice I2 in the nozzle 6. Due to the throttling eflect of the measuring orifice I2 9. pressure will be built up in the chamber I5 which is constant for a particular setting of the needle-valve l5. To provide a predetermined normal pressure in the chamber I3 the operator adjusts the needle-Vang I5'until the liquid level in the long arm 2I of the manometer tube 20' registers with the graduation marked 0 on the scale 25. A package P is next mounted in position on the apparatus as shown in Fig. 1 with the lower. end of its core C engaging the flange 3 and withthe plug I3 extending into the lower end of the core.

The apparatus is then ready for a testing operation and the operator depresses the treadle 65 which acts through the connecting'rod 55 and sliding rod 44 to lower the closure-plate 40 into sealing engagement with the upper end of the core C. The stream of testing fluid passing through the measuring orifice I2 is then confined within the core C and can only escape through the perforations therein and the interstices in the mass ofyarn forming the package P. The position of theplugs' I3 and I allows the escape of the ,testing fluid through that portion only of; v the package where the resistance to flow is uniform per unit of area. Due to the resistance of the package to the flow of the testing medium a pressure builds up in the package which causes an increase in the pressure in the measuring chamber l5 that is directly proportional thereto. Further, as the pressure necessary to forcethe testing fluid through the package is inversely proportional to the rate of fio'w of fluid through the package the degree of pressure in the chamber I6 is a measure of the permeability of the package. The pressure in the chamber I5 'is transmitted through the conduit 36 to the short arm 22 of the manometer tube 20 and its degree is indicated on the scale 25 when it attains a After a particular package P constant value. has been tested the operator releases the treadle 55 and the spring 55 actuates the rod 44. to raise the closure-plate 40, to release the package. ,The package is then removed and another package applied and this package tested and the pressure observed in the same manner as above indicated.

The operator continues to test a plurality of packages and groups them in accordance with their degree of permeability as indicated by the pressure readings. It has been found that a certain tolerance in the permeability of the individual packages of a batch is permissible and that the permissible tolerance varies for different dye-liquors with which the packages are treated. Thus, those packages having substantially the same permeability within a predetermined range are grouped together for subsequent treatment. Those packages outside of the permissible range of permeability are either rewound or, when they occur in large numbers, are grouped together toform a separate batch or batches so that all the packages in an individual batch will pass thesar'ne amount of dye-liquor or other treating fluid and will be uniformly treated. Preferably the packages are dyed or otherwise treated in an apparatus for processing fibrous materials of the type illustrated and described in United-States Patent Application of Royal treating liquor under pressure. The dye or other" treating liquor is then forced radially through the perforated holders and packages mounted thereon for a predetermined period of time. Due to the fact that the packages all have the same permeability the same quantity of. the treating liquor will pass through each of the .packages. It has been found in actual practice that when, so treated all the packages will be uniformly treated and when dyed will take the same color shade. Groups of packages having a greater or lesser permeability may be treated in the same way, but with the conditions of treatment such as. the pressure and/or the period of treatment increased or decreased in proportion to the permeability of the batch so that the same predetermined quantity of the liquor will pass through each package of this group as passes through the packages of normal permeability.

Thus all the packages of different batches will be uniformly treated.

From the foregoing description of the invention it will be observed that a novel method of dyeing or similarly treating textile materials has been provided including the step of accurately measuring the relative permeability of each package of the material to the flow of afluid as indicated by the pressure necessary to force a testing fluid through the package at a constant rate. It will also be observed that by testing the relative permeability of a plurality of packages a subsequent uniform treatment may be given to all the packages in dyeing, bleaching, mordanting, or other treating processes. It will further be observed that the present invention provides for testing the packages with great facility by a series of simple operations that may be performed by an unskilled person with unerring accuracy; ,7

Various modifications may be made in the herein described method and in the form of the apparatus illustrated without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, without limiting ourselves to the exact embodiments describedand illustrated, we claim:

1. The method of uniformly treating a plural- 1 ity of hollow packages of textile material with a dye-liquor which comprises passing a confined stream of testing fluid through each .package, measuring the pressure of said testing fluid caused by the resistance of the package to the flow thereof, grouping those packages having substantially thesame permeability as measured by the pressure of said testing fluid, and passing a dye-liquor through the selected group of packages under pressure to cause the material of all the packages to be uniformly treated.

2. The method of uniformly treating a plurality of hollow packages of textile material with a dye-liquor which comprises passing a confined stream of testing fluid through each package, measuring the pressure of said testing fluid caused by the resistance of the package to the flow thereof, grouping those packages having substantially the same permeability as measured by the pressure of said testing fluid, and treating the several groups of packages having different permeability by separately passing a dye-liquor through the packages of the different groups under such conditions of pressure of the dyeliquor, duration of treatment, or strength of the dye-liquor as will uniformly treat the material in all the packages.

3. The method of dyeing hollow packages of textile material which comprises testing the packages for permeability by passing a confined stream of air through each package and measuring the pressure of said air-stream caused by the resistance of the package to the flow thereof,

grouping those packages having substantially.

the same permeability as measured by the pressure of said air stream, and passing a dye-liquor under pressure through the selected group of packages to cause the material in all the packages to be dyed to a uniform shade.

ROYAL LITTLE. FREEMAN W. FRAIM. 

